American Tourists Return Sand and Rock to Iceland With an Apology Note

Sure, American tourists don't have the best reputation when it comes to our travels abroad. But one mother–daughter duo traveling in Iceland did their darndest in rectifying those stereotypes.

Joanne and Evangelina, who hail from Virginia, visited Iceland in January to see the Northern Lights and the renowned black sand beaches of Reynisfjara, according to Lonely Planet. They were so impressed by the beaches (a must-see if you go to Iceland) that the two took a handful of sand and some black rocks to show the 11-year-old daughter's class back home. It turns out this behavior is not allowed (not to mention possibly extremely cursed), and when they found out, the duo felt so bad they mailed the souvenirs straight back to the Icelandic Tourism Board, along with a very, very apologetic note.

"Dear Icelandic Tourism Board, This January my daughter and I went to your beautiful country to visit and see the Northern Lights," reads the remorseful letter. "We enjoyed our visit very much and fell in love with Iceland!"

"We were so amazed and excited to visit the Black Sand Beach and took a little bit [of] sand and a few pebbles home to show my daughter's classmates and teachers," it says. "We later learned that it's not allowed to take anything from the beach or natural grounds. We are SO sorry about this."

Luckily, the Icelandic Tourism Board seemed to take it in stride. They posted the first page of the apology note, along with one black rock and the bag of sand in question, on their Facebook page.

"Conscientious tourists!" they wrote. "Occasionally, at the Tourist Board, we receive pleasant and interesting shipments. This week we received packages and letters from highly conscientious American travelers."

The Facebook post continues with an Icelandic translation of the note in which the mom asks the Board to return the sand and pebbles back to nature for them, along with some "heartfelt thanks." The Icelandic Tourism Board has promised they will do so at the first opportunity.

Lesson learned: When traveling, stick to man-made souvenirs and leave the natural wonders where you found them. But if you do happen to accidentally take a little bit of Iceland with you, make like these "highly conscientious American travelers" and give it back.